March
is budget month at the Immortality Institute. (In case this is still
unclear, the 'Immortality Institute' and 'LongeCity' are two names for
the same organisation. We now tend to use ‘LongeCity’ for general
purposes, and ‘Immortality Institute’ for matters specifically related
to the internal ‘Members’ section.)
We are grateful that financial support for our budget comes from
membership donations and advertisers, and from
friends in cutting edge
technology.
Speaking of which: We are hoping to deplete our budget by spending more
money on
scientific research this year, but still we need your help with the
current fundraiser before we can go further.
Meanwhile, even if you currently have not a penny to spare,
it only takes 30seconds
to help us improve the site. We would really appreciate if you could
find that time this month.

Caliban

NEWSAdvertisers sought

In the context of the budget review, we are currently reviewing the options
for advertising partnerships at LongeCity.
In recent months, we have pioneered some Member Benefits in the life-extension supplement area.
Most notably this includes or partnership with
Stop Aging Now, but also
sponsors such as
BioArmor Labsand
our friends at Revgenetics helping
with the community project VIMMORTAL.
We hope that these and other arrangements are benefiting members while also
raising some much needed cash for life extension research and activism.
However, we are very aware that we don't want to 'plaster' the site with
adverts or in any way diminish the impact and usability of the site.

If you have any ideas about how to improve our strategy in this area, or if
you are interested in advertising on the website or on other outlets, please
get in touch via support@imminst.org.
Halcyon Molecular is hiring

Founded by friends of LongecCity,
Halcyon Molecular is working to transform biology into an information
science. With the mission to cure diseases, extend lifespan and enhance the
quality of life, this young, dynamic company, aims to make full genome
sequencing universally available. The company is looking for a Helpdesk
Administrator in the area of Redwood City, California. Have a look at their
job advert -- if it fits your profile, I suggest you grab the opportunity
with both hands, a rare chance to help make a real difference in the field.
Incidentally, while you are there, why not use the forum function to
'subscribe' to our careers forum? Even if you are not job hunting at the
moment, you could help those seeking advice in that section, potentially
helping a young person with some very very important decisions.

The microglia stemcell fundraiser is now more than halfway complete, please
consider supporting it. A couple of interesting other projects are waiting
in the background, but we would have very little confidence thinking
seriously about supporting further scientific work if we cannot first help
to launch this exiting and important research.

March is ‘budget month’ at the Immortality Institute. By Mid-March the
Treasurer will suggest how we were faring last year, and by the end of March
the Board will have agreed a draft budget for the next 12 months. We will
try in this to anticipate new initiatives and plans.
In this context, please
note the way we deal with project suggestions: Ideas are now
generally discussed in the
‘ideas’ section, and once the idea has matured into a
project suggestion, it should be taken to the
’project
proposals’ section. If you
have any projects in mind with financial implications, you can propose them at any
time, but this month would be particularly convenient for planning purposes!

Changes are underway in the membership management. Last year, we had to
raise the expected donation for student and unemployed members from to $25
per year. As the software allows no other option, we have had to cancel
recurring subscriptions. Members who received a notification on this: your
current membership status is not affected. However, a year after your last
payment, the software will not automatically renew your membership, we hope
that you will remember to do so manually.
Meanwhile, we are seriously considering cancelling the monthly membership
option. There was always a slight risk of abuse with that system, e.g.
people joining just for elections and with the great new membership
benefits, this risk is now very real. More importantly, we would like this
year to move to a better register of members, making sure that we know about
members interests and skills where this information is shared. Such a system
is only possible with annual memberships.

LongeCity is firmly a community website. There is very little ‘official’
content, because we believe in the wisdom of groups and in the dynamics of
collective action.
In the long run, visiting LongeCity is only worth your while if there are
not just passive consumers but active contributors.

In this post, we share a few suggestions about what you could do in just
30 seconds to make the website better.

VOLUNTEERS
With the 'Thank You' or '₮' points-based system now up and running, volunteers and valued forum contributors receive these points based on their
contributions, and can redeem these
points at a 'virtual
store' for fun items -- such a your own personal emoticon, or some small
prizes or -- including free membership, Amazon gift vouchers, or even seed
capital to start your own matching fundraiser.
If you have other ideas or suggestions regarding new initiatives, please visit
the ACTION forum to
share your thoughts.
ABOUT
The LongeCity newsletter is usually send out on the 8th
day of each month to Members and registered forum users. You can find
past
newsletters here.